National Research and Development Centers CFDA 84.305C

Program Officer:
Dr. David Sweet
David.Sweet@ed.gov
(202) 219-1748

Purpose

Under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, the Institute supports national research and development centers (R&D Centers) that are intended to contribute significantly to the solution of education problems in the United States by engaging in research, development, evaluation, and national leadership activities aimed at improving the education system, and ultimately, student achievement. Each of the R&D Centers conducts a focused program of education research in its topic area. In addition, each Center conducts supplemental research within its broad topic area and provides national leadership in advancing evidence-based practice and policy within its topic area. For information on existing Institute centers, please see the National Research and Develpoment programs page.

Background

The Institute's R&D Centers grapple with key education issues that face our nation. Through the Institute's R&D program, researchers have greater resources to tackle more complex education problems, create innovative education solutions, and contribute to knowledge and theory in the education sciences. The Institute currently funds 13 national R&D Centers and 2 special education R&D Centers. Here are examples of the types of issues that they are addressing.

• Educators and policymakers argue that the major impediments to increasing college enrollment among low-income students are the complexity of the federal application process for financial aid and the lack of information that families have about financial aid. The National Center for Postsecondary Research is testing interventions to determine which combination of services, including direct assistance with completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application process, will improve access to postsecondary education for low-income students.



• School districts are experimenting with the use of incentives for teachers, administrators, and schools to improve the quality of education in their schools. How should performance incentive programs be structured to achieve desired goals and minimize unintended negative consequences? The National Center for Teacher Performance Incentives is conducting a number of studies to test the effects of different parameters for incentive programs.



• Young children who have not had sufficient language and early literacy experiences prior to kindergarten face significant challenges learning to read. These children often continue to experience poor reading skills throughout school. The Center for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood is creating a Response to Intervention model including innovative interventions to promote the development of language and early literacy skills and an assessment system for tracking children's progress.



• Despite advances in education technology, many argue that the full potential of electronic media for educational purposes has yet to be reached. Typical products are not ones that students would naturally gravitate to outside of school — lacking high quality graphics and sounds, sophisticated user interface, a reward structure that cultivates a strong sense of motivation, and engaging activities that maintain the user's attention. The Institute is currently funding two R&D Centers in education technology. The Centers are capitalizing on rich multimedia gaming environments to create innovative instructional products: one Center is focusing on teaching mathematics to ninth graders and the other is addressing science content for seventh graders.



• The recent development of state longitudinal data systems offers the opportunity to answer a multitude of education policy-relevant questions, but requires sophisticated methodological expertise to handle complicated datasets and complex analyses. The Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) brings together a group of economists with such expertise to take advantage of comprehensive education databases in Florida, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington state to examine the relations between teacher workforce and governance policies (e.g., certification, compensation, accountability, and choice) and key education outcomes (e.g., student achievement, graduation rates, teacher retention).